Uzumaki Naruto: War Hero
by Egas Bladesoul
Summary: The Hyuuga Incident sparked the Fourth Shinobi World War, and as Konoha's only jinchuuriki against a nation with two, he was drafted, along with several other of the "konoha 12"
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. This story is inspired by Lucillia's First Try and Shadowstar91's Tale of Kurai Kitsune. Scene Changes fixed

_Following the Hyuuga incident_

"Hiashi-dono, there is more. Because the treaty had been signed, the Daimyo of Kaminari is demanding recompense on the Hyuuga. He requested the head of the Head Ambassador's killer," The aged man informed his guest.

"I see, Lord Hokage. I, need some time, to set my affairs in order," Hiashi dismissed himself.

"No!" shouted Hiashi's twin, Hizashi. "Lord Hiashi," he began, "no, brother, its my place, as a member of the branch family, to go in your stead. Let me face the executioner's blade."

"Damnit, Hizashi, why must you always make this a branch versus main family debate!" Hiashi scolded his brother. "I am a man, and shall pay for my actions, head held high. Do not paint me as some honorless dog."

"Forgive me, brother," Hizashi whispered, before blurring out of sight, only to appear behind his brother. Hiashi fell to his knees, all of his tenketsu sealed.

* * *

>"That's enough, both of you!" the Hokage shouted. "Konoha is no injured dog. We won't take their kicks lying down. Kumo must pay for their crimes. If it is more bloodshed that their daimyo wants, then we shall show him that our strength survives, even if the Yondaime did not."<p><p>

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_9 Years Later_

"... Team Seven shall be Sakura Haruno and Uchiha Sasuke under Kakashi Hatake with his previous student. Team Eight will be Kiba Inuzuka under Kurenai Yuuhi with two other genin. Team Nine is still in rotation. Team Ten will be Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara, and Chouji Akimichi under Asuma Sarutobi. I suggest you get to know your teammates during lunch. After, return here, where your senseis will pick you up. Good luck," the scarred instructor dismissed his former charges.

"Sasuke-kun, would you like to get lunch with me?" Sakura asked him.

"Sakura, your annoying," said brooding ball of sunshine and rainbows replied before turning to walk away.

He didn't make it more than a few steps when he felt himself get pulled back. "Hey, now, Iruka-taichou suggested we get lunch together, now let's go get lunch together," someone said from behind him. Instinctively, he went for his kunai holster, only to find that it was gone. "Looking for this?" Sasuke turned to see the blond stranger tossing his holster in the air playfully. "Name's Naruto Uzumaki, your third. We've got a few hours until we meet with sensei, so you might as well follow me." With a flare of chakra, he shunshinned the three of them away.

"Wait, Iruka-sensei, what about meeee," Kiba yelled, having been left all alone.

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"Umm, Naruto-san, isn't this a bar?" Sakura asked dubiously.

"Yep, sure is," he replied nonchalantly. "Its also a rather famous pub."

"BAKA!" she shrieked. "We're too young to go in there."

"Its ninja only, so you won't have any problems," Sasuke replied as he pushed in. Inside, the rather spacious bar filled with mostly older shinobi.

"Naruto-sempai, over here," a rather buxom girl with indigo hair and pale eyes indicating that she was a Hyuuga called to him.

"Come on, I'll introduce you to the other teams our age. This is Hinata Hyuuga and her teammate Shino Aburame. They'll be working with that Inuzuka kid, Kiba. The other three are Tenten Higurashi, of the Higurashi weapons shop, you won't find better weapons anywhere, Rock Lee, taijutsu specialist extraodinare, and Neji Hyuuga, the Branch Prodigy. They make up Team Nine under Maito Guy. You'll meet him soon enough. Neji, Shino, Hinata and I all fought in the Fourth Great Shinobi War," Naruto explained. Sasuke, just glancing at the war vets, could see the dangerous way they held their bodies.

"Gomen, Naruto-sempai, we took the liberty of ordering your usual," Hinata said, poking her index fingers together.

"Thanks, Hinata-chan," Naruto smiled at her, causing her to blush slightly. The waiter walked up to get Sakura and Sasuke's order, as well as to replace the teapot.

"Yosh, Naruto-kun, these are your new teammates?" Lee asked. "Forgive me for being unyouthful, but they don't seem like much."

A vein bulged on Sasuke's neck as he reached for a kunai for the second time today, only to be stopped again by Naruto. "Lee, you hurt his feelings," he mock scolded. "No one is ever much when they first make genin though, are they," he continued wistfully. His friends raised their glasses and drank to that.

"Umm, not that I mind, if this is a bar, and we're allowed to drink, why are we all drinking tea?" Sakura asked shyly.

"Because my teammate here becomes an uncontrollable human wrecking ball at the smell of sake," Tenten answered her. "It isn't worth the property damage to have any where he could accidentally grab it. Besides, besides Shino, Naruto and I, none of you can hold your liquor. I remember once Naruto got in a drinking contest with Tsunade Senju in passing; it lasted days. They stopped the war so everyone could watch and bet."

"She tried to cheat," Naruto pouted. "She poured a powerful anesthetic in my bottle, and she still lost." The waitress returned with their food and set it in front of them.

"Tell us about sensei, please," Sasuke asked objectively.

"If you haven't heard stories about Kakashi Hatake, you're in the wrong career," Naruto stated. "As the man who killed the Sandaime Raikage, as well as helped turn the tide of the war, its common opinion that he's being groomed to be the next Hokage."

"Is there any truth to the rumors?" he asked.

"When I asked him about it, he looked up from Icha Icha Paradise and said he'd rather take a vacation to Iwa, which, if you didn't know, has a standing kill on sight order on him, me, and for some reason, pandas."

"Maa, maa, Naruto, corrupting the shinies already?" a jonin at another table looked up from an orange book to comment on their conversation.

"Ehh, would you rather I took them to Ichiraku's?" the blonde scratched his head.

"You'd be even later than me," he deadpanned.

"So are you going to introduce yourself?

"I would, but I'm at a good part in my book, and there's time to do it later."

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"So tell me about yourselves," Kakashi ordered them. "You know, likes, dislikes, hobbies, dreams for the future."

"Do we really have to?" Naruto glared at him. "We both know you were listening in the bar."

Kakashi ignored his student. "How about you, sunshine, why don't you start?" he directed, glaring at Sasuke.

"Hn. I'm Sasuke Uchiha. I like little, and dislike a lot. My hobby is training, and my dream, my ambition, is to kill a certain someone, and to restore my clan."

'Sasuke,' Naruto thought. "Uzumaki Naruto, jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune. I enjoy ramen, but dislike the three minutes it takes for the water to boil." Sasuke and Sakura's eyes twitched, remembering him eating ramen back at the bar. The stack of empties just kept going. "I enjoy learning new jutsu and finding innovative uses for jutsu. My dream is to be Hokage someday, and to end pointless bloodshed."

"Sakura Haruno, sir. I like a certain someone, and hate perverts like Kiba-baka. My hobbies," she giggled. "My dreams," another giggle.

"Right then," Kakashi interrupted her train of thought. "Technically, you two aren't ninja yet. You have to pass my test first." Sakura looked confused, and Sasuke scoffed. "It has a 66% failure rate. If you fail, you'll be sent back to the academy for another year. Meet me here at seven tomorrow morning, and don't eat breakfast, or else you'll puke. Ja ne."

"He's, going to show up late again, isn't he?" Sakura asked.

"Oh, most definitely," Naruto replied.

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"I was going to make you do the dreaded bell test today, but it seems that the council has used a loophole stating that since Naruto is already a genin, you all automatically pass. Therefore, Sasuke, Sakura, you'll be sparring against Naruto, do try not to end up in the hospital for too long," Kakashi intoned, before shunshinning on top of the posts he would have tied one of them to. Sasuke looked pleased at actually getting to do something and charged right in, kunai drawn. Naruto didn't bat an eye, reaching into his pocket to pull out a puzzle ring.

"Ano, Naruto-san, but Sasuke was rookie of the year, shouldn't you focus on him?" Sakura asked confused.

Naruto appeared to think about it, before looking at her, and going. "Nahh."

Sasuke stabbed, slashed, and swung at Naruto, who barely moved at all. While Sasuke began a particularly violent stab, Naruto caught the tip with the steel puzzle ring. "Wait. Don't move, I've got it. Okay, now its my turn." Sasuke paled.

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Sakura groaned, as she collapsed against one of the posts. Naruto fought like a beast, and hit like a sledgehammer. And Kiba said she hit hard. Her left hand went to her ribs and began checking them. Two were bent in, but not fully broken. She was going to need some medical attention after sensei dismissed them. Sasuke collapsed next to her, looking only slightly better for the wear. He had a rather nasty bruise under his left eye and was favoring his right leg when moving. The training ground was absolutely destroyed. Luckily they always seemed to be magically repaired after heavy training sessions anyway.

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_Elsewhere _

An Anbu wearing a tiger mask held his arm out for the mission messenger pigeon. Apparently, one of the new genin teams had trashed the training ground, which was a rather popular one, meaning he was going to have a long night. Maybe he would find out whose team it was and put the fear of the light into him. "Why do I always get these jobs.

"Because unlike the rest of us, you can just grow everything back. We'd have to transplant the plants from somewhere," Anbu agent Cat answered his rhetorical question.

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"Alright then, team, we'll meet here tomorrow at seven for training before we get our first mission. Naruto, get them to a hospital, if you would. Later," he said, disappearing in a swirl of leaves.

"I hate it when he does that," Naruto grumbled. He made a single shadow clone, who helped Sasuke to his feet and picked Sakura up himself. She protested futilely. "Your suffering from chakra exhaustion as well as several injuries. Its no shame to be carried to the medics after a long battle." They walked most of the way in silence.

Sakura was checked in so her ribs could get healed, and Naruto pulled Sasuke into an empty room. Naruto went to his knees, and began apologizing to Sasuke. Sasuke was speechless for a moment, before asking why Naruto was apologizing. "I didn't do anything to stop him. Sempai seemed a little strange that night, but he told me that everything was alright. When I found out what he did, I wanted to go after him, but the Hokage put me under heavy survellience. I failed your family, and I failed Shina-chan," Naruto explained.

"You knew Itachi," Sasuke realized. "Don't apologize. Had you tried to stop him, you'd be dead too." Unbidden, a memory from before the turning point in the war sprung to mind.

That Man was back from the Kiri border, where they were controlling the influx of refugees. He looked at father, and asked, "Father, what do you think of Uzumaki Naruto?"

Fugaku Uchiha, ever the stoic, hid his surprise well. But to Itachi, and Sasuke's surprise, it was Mikoto who answered. "A sad child, always alone. Nobody to love him. Why, Kushi-chan, why did it happen?" She almost whispered at the end.

"He was assigned to my squad, and I didn't know what to make of him," Itachi clarified his question. Fugaku led the older son to his study and activated privacy seals to prevent, (Sasuke's) peeping eyes.

Naruto got up and nodded at Sasuke. "I had to say it, for Shina-chan." Sasuke didn't personally know the name, but would look it up when he had gotten home. They collected Sakura and then went their separate ways.

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"Back already, team seven?" the Hokage asked from behind his pipe. "Will you be taking another mission today? You currently stand at 48 D ranks completed successfully. We have watering plants at the Yamanaka flowershop, babysitting some children, or painting a fence." Sasuke scowled, flipped through the abbreviated handseals (he had it down to three since he started training with Naruto, er Kakashi) for Grand Fireball jutsu, before firing it at the rank of D rank missions. The old man chuckled as the ball of fire dissipated against a barrier protecting the scrolls. "Sorry, Sasuke-kun, but we put up a barrier after Uchiha Obito tried that. I assume that means that you don't want another D-rank? Are they ready, Kakashi?"

"Ehh, I've just been waiting for something like this. Naruto can do most B ranks alone, and I do an S-rank before breakfast most mornings, so I don't see why not," Kakashi said without looking up from his book.

"About those, you really need to stop stealing the suicide missions from ANBU Headquarters. When Yin went to do one, he ended up picking flowers for the Daimyo's wife."

"Rare flowers from a valley on the other side of Iwa," Kakashi noted. "How is Yin doing, persistent bastard?"

"He's still trying to get a suicide mission so that he can die for his village, instead of in a bed. Now, Iruka, if you'd be so kind as to show our client in." The academy instructor nodded, before showing an old drunk into the room.

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Omake Chronicles: Super Shinobi Pals

"Naruto, I've got a present for you," the third Hokage said. With excessive dramatic flair, he pulled out a doll with bright blue eyes and vibrant blonde hair.

"Jiji! You got me a Yondaime SSP? They're super rare!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Not, quite, Naruto," the old man grinned. "Look closer."

"Hey, somebody drew on its face. It looks like..."

"That, is the very first Uzumaki Naruto SSP, Naruto. I requested one signed by the maker for you," the aged leader grinned, looking very pleased with himself. That is, until Naruto threw it out the open window.

"Jiji, I'm not even Hokage, yet. I haven't earned it," Naruto said. "You got my hopes up for notheing."

Sarutobi sweatdropped, before dropping his pipe to an earshattering shriek of, "," from the street below.

A/N: I know, I'm terrible. I just can't help all the plots that pop up in my head. This will feature a rather overpowered Naruto, but Sasuke's getting stronger quicker and Sakura, ummm, hmmm, well, her hair is soft as ever? Tell me what you think.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimed

A/N: Not quite happy with this, but Wave gets old quick. R&R please.

To Farsight's review: The war has been over for almost 3 years, Naruto was drafted at age 5 because he's a jinchuuriki, and they needed more people capable of fighting one, Hinata was sent by her father, Neji was sent to protect Hinata by his father at ages 6 and 7 respectively, and Shino was sent because he was deemed prepared at age 7. The Uchiha massacre took place two years later than canon. One of Naruto's other teammates has been mentioned, and the other will be a bit of a sore spot for him, and I'm currently undecided whether Shino and Hinata's teammate is still alive. Neji is high chuunin, low jonin, Hinata and Shino are mid-chuunin, and Naruto is Naruto.

To anon: You would think that medic training with Tsunade would make Sakura do more, but the only person she ever really has defeated was the genjutsu user from Sora's arc. You really can't give her credit for Sasori, Chiyo-baasama did all the work. Sakura was just a puppet. So will she be useless, maybe, but not as useless as canon. The only other thing that I can think of as important that she's done so far was to break down the poison that was killing Kankuro. I had tried using lines for the scene changes, but I hadn't realized that they weren't showing up. I've taken care of though, so it shouldn't be a future problem.

To Mr. Se7en: Thanks. Everything that I write is unbetaed, so occasionally spelling and grammar errors will slip by, but I do try to keep them out as much as possible, with the exception of things in quotes. I hope that me fixing the dividers makes it a little more understandable. Otherwise, chapter 1 was mostly set up, character introduction and what-not. -

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Two hours later, Team Seven and Tazuna left Konoha, heading towards Wave. Kakashi took point, put Sasuke and Sakura as the wings, and Naruto took up the rear. After a while, Naruto called for a formation change. He walked next to Tazuna with Sakura and Sasuke bringing up the rear. In truth, he just wanted to talk to Tazuna, but he didn't want to scare Sakura and Sasuke who Kakashi had reassured that there wouldn't be any ninja to fight on this mission. While Sasuke had been disappointed, Naruto could feel the relief that came off of him. "So, how strong of ninja should we be expecting to fight on this mission?" He quietly asked.

"I don't know what your talking about, I just needed protection back to Wave from bandits," Tazuna stuck to his story.

"Look, I know that you lied, Kakashi knows that you lied, and the Hokage knows you lied. Its why he sent us on this mission. He knew that whatever happens, Kakashi can handle it. You wouldn't need protection from bandits to return to a place that you needn't have left in the first place. Whoever is after you has hired ninja, and you did the same, so what do you know about them, or at least, who hired them, and how much does he want you dead? How much would he be willing to pay to get the job done?"

Tazuna's shoulders slumped. "His name is Gatou, and he's very wealthy. He's willing to do whatever it takes to get his way."

"Gatou, as in Gatou Corp., Gatou? He's listed as one of the wealthiest men in the world. How much does he know about your situation?"

"He knows I left to get ninjas to protect me, my family and my bridge. He also knew we wouldn't be able to pay for anything above a C-ranked mission," Tazuna replied.

"Alright, good. If he is as cheap as he's said to be, we shouldn't have anything to worry about," Naruto relaxed slightly.

Naruto flared his chakra slightly to get Kakashi's attention. "Ne, Naruto, I know its been awhile since you've been out of the village, but calm down," Kakashi smiled at him. Naruto discretely signed his findings to the jonin, whose visible eye hardened. Kakashi signed back to stay alert. Ninjas who underestimate their opponents die. Naruto nodded. Kakashi called for a change in formation as they passed a puddle. He took the rear, with Sasuke in the front and Sakura and Naruto flanking Tazuna.

As soon as they all passed, twin figures rose from the puddle and attacked Kakashi. Sasuke charged in, locking their razor chain to a tree with a kunai. The brothers disengaged their chain and charged the Last Uchiha. One on one, Sasuke would have been an even match for the tag-team, but when he went to attack one, the other brother would go on the offensive, and vice versa. Sasuke growled and disengaged, jumping out from in between the two. He flashed through the hand seals for Grand Fireball jutsu, and then fired an enormous one at where the two were standing. "Heh, fool," one of the brothers muttered as they flicked through some hand seals of their own. A large wall of water rose from the ground to intercept the fireball.

Sasuke grinned as his fireball exploded. Naruto, from where he stood next to Tazuna, had his hand extended, having hit the fire jutsu with a wind one of his own. The ball grew white hot and pushed through the water walls. "Don't mistake me for some common genin," Sasuke shouted, charging one of the separate brothers, while Naruto shunshinned behind the other and knocked him out. Without his partner the Demon Brother quickly fell to Sasuke's onslaught.

Kakashi dropped out of a tree. "Good work Sasuke. When you knew you were overwhelmed you fell back and tried again. Sakura, you immediately went to protect our client, as per the book," he flipped another page in his porn. "Naruto, lets go with that plan."

"Hai, sensei," Naruto acknowledged. Naruto made five shadow clones henged as Tazuna, Sakura, Sasuke, and himself. "Come on, you three, we're getting off the road." The last shadow clone picked up Tazuna, and followed the real Naruto as he set pace through the forest.

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"Ano, Naruto, will Kakashi-sensei be alright?" Sakura asked as they approached Tazuna's house.

"Kakashi is considered mid-kage level," Naruto answered. Seeing the confusion on her face, he elaborated. "There are three grades of kage class ninja. A low-kage level ninja is someone who could be considered for a kage, if below a certain age, and having show an aptitude for strategy and politics, as its assumed that they will continue to become stronger, or are extremely well viewed by the people. A mid-kage grade ninja is considered to be the best someone can be without an extreme outlying force, such as advanced kekkei genkai, or a unique jutsu that gives them a definitive edge. They are known to be able to put almost any number of jonin and lower ninjas to shame. High-kage ranked ninja are extremely rare. I can think of three individuals, and all three were at some time, members of Konoha. We're talking about people who can go on par against a tailed beast. They are Hashirama Senju, Madara Uchiha, and Minato Namikaze. From our intelligence, his opponent is a low-kage level ninja named Momochi Zabuza, who is known to travel with the Demon Brothers, who we've already met, who are a chuunin pair, and an unknown element. We were likely to be the weak links in the team, since its unknown if you two could keep yourselves alive in a kage-level fight. Don't glare at me like that, Sasuke, we're talking about high speed taijutsu where the slightest misstep can be disastrous, and almost constant A-rank jutsu bombardment." Sasuke looked taken aback.

"How strong are you, that you could survive it?" Sasuke queried.

Naruto smiled sadly. "Not strong enough," he answered plainly. "I couldn't protect my precious people." He walked out of the house.

"Shouldn't one of you go after him?" Tazuna's daughter asked.

Kakashi answered from the window. "Naruto can handle himself."

"Sensei," Sakura greeted the man. "What happened?"

"Did Naruto fill you in on our intelligence?" He asked. Seeing the genin nod their heads, he continued, "I fought with Zabuza. Before I could land a killing blow, his accomplice created an ice mirror, pulled him through, and vanished. Which means you, my shiny little genin, get to train in case there's trouble," he finished with a smile. To himself, he thought, "Too bad Naruto already taught them tree-climbing while I was MIA before missions and training." To them he said. "We'll worry about that tomorrow though."

"We'll be doing real training, right?" Sasuke asked. "Not more of your stupid teamwork exercises?"

"I don't know what Naruto is going to be teaching you, Sasuke. I'm giving him carte blanche to do whatever he pleases. As for you, Sakura, you lucky duckling, you'll be training with me to get you up to par with what a genin should be able to do."

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The next morning, Tazuna's house woke to the smell of fresh pork frying. Naruto had wandered back sometime in the night, and apparently brought a wild boar with him. Inari, Tazuna's grandson, stared at the food Naruto put on the table and drooled. "Where did you get all this?" he asked. "This is more than most of the village eats in a day."

Naruto scratched his head sheepishly. "Well, between the food I normally carry for missions, and the forest around the island, there was plenty to be had. Dig in," he ordered, and no one hesitated. "When your finished Sasuke, I'll be in a clearing in the forest to the north."

Sasuke finished his food quickly and set out without a word. He found Naruto sparring at high speed with one of his clones. "You used that jutsu earlier on the mission. It's not the standard clone, what is it?" Sasuke asked after the real Naruto stabbed the fake in the stomach.

"Its a B-ranked kinjutsu that creates a solid clone out of a chakra matrix, instead of an element. The amount of chakra needed is dangerous, and more than one good ninja has died thinking they had enough to use it, when they didn't. I'm forbidden from teaching it by the Hokage, unless he allows it," Naruto explained without going too into detail (information is a terrible thing to give to a determined genin).

"Kakashi-sensei said that you were going to help train me in case the worst should happen," Sasuke said. "Where would you like to start?"

"You've already mastered tree-climbing, and you did fairly well water-walking on our way out here," Naruto began. "The next step in chakra control is elemental manipulation, which I can't help you with. Your taijutsu is already incredible for an ordinary shinobi, though it is nowhere near Lee's level. I can't do genjutsu, so what I'll teach you is survival." Naruto made the hand seal for the shadow clone jutsu and Sasuke was surrounded. "Your task is simple, don't get hit. My clones are going to fire partially unformed wind jutsu at you. They won't cut you, but they will hurt, and you won't be able to see them, unless you can pick up on the distortions in the air. Others will charge you and engage you. Don't let them distract you." Not waiting for Sasuke to prepare himself, Naruto charged. "Let's begin."

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Sakura gasped for breath. Her sensei was running her through her forms, and pushing her far past her limits. Seeing as Naruto and Sasuke took to the forest to train, Kakashi was training her on the water under the bridge, so if they were needed, they were in range to help. "The problem with academy forms are simple. They are known to everyone who graduates from the same academy as you. Anyone who is stronger, or faster than you would be able to beat you down given time. Likewise, academy texts are among the most valued things on the black market, because if a ninja can't make it past genin, its one less thorn in a rival nations side," Kakashi lectured. "This leaves you with two options. You can modify the style so that it is unique to you, or you can supplement it with another ninja art. A good friend of mine took to poisons, while her master unleashes an electrical field that confuses the nerves in a ninja's body. The question is, what will you do?" Kakashi asked the girl, who stared at him questioningly. "I can't choose for you. I can help you improve your idea, to refine it, but ultimately, its up to you to choose how you're going to fight. Naruto supplements his style with coordination between his clones. Uchihas have their eyes, and have their own unique style. Tell me, what will Sakura Haruno have? One of your teammates is already a legend in the making, and it is likely that Sasuke will one day be someone in the who's who of shinobi. Will Sakura Haruno be a footnote in their stories, or a legend in and of her own? We'll take a break, lets go back up, and then you can catch your breath while you think about that," Kakashi smiled at her.

When she caught her breath, she asked, "Hey, sensei, what happened to Naruto's other team? I mean, he introduced us to the other genin, but he didn't tell us about anyone he's worked with before."

Kakashi's face grew cold. "In a shinobi war like the one that you grew up during, the mortality rate for genin is terrible, but we still need new recruits. I had just taken over their team, after their other sensei died on a mission they weren't a part of. Shinta no Kuro died during an assault on our camp along the Kumo border with many others. Naruto had been out of camp with a foraging party when the enemy shinobi attacked. Some of the men were going to rape their third, Shina Uchiha, from a minor branch of the Uchiha Clan. Shinta protected her bodily. He was defiant to the last. When the foraging team came back, the camp was under Kumo's control. A second battle began. The last thing Naruto remembered seeing that night was Shinta sliding off a Kumo-nin's sword. When he came to, the camp was an utter bloodbath. Not a single enemy ninja was left alive," Kakashi finished. "I myself had been on reconnaissance, and didn't realize something was wrong until we found their camp empty."

"What happened to the girl?" Sakura asked, almost afraid to learn what had befell her.

"Shina Uchiha survived the war, only to be butchered in the Uchiha Massacre two years ago. After each, Naruto threw himself forward with reckless abandon, fighting tooth and claw to become stronger so he didn't have to watch his comrades die. They're Naruto's reasons to press on and get stronger. He's known to suffer from chakra exhaustion at least once a week," Kakashi whispered, as if recalling hurt him personally. "Shina's death was particularly harsh on Naruto. In war, it was always over our heads, but for her to die like she did after the war ended almost broke him. He loved her, and she him."

Sakura didn't know how to respond to that. "Look sharp, Sakura, we've got company," Kakashi ordered. Two ronin were walking towards the bridge.

Waraji and Zori had begun harassing the nearest worker. "Heh, look, Zori, its Inoue."

"So it is, Waraji," Zori smiled. "Don't worry about your wife and daughter, cuz after we gut you, we'll take real good care of them. Gatou made it really clear that anyone willing to work on this was gonna get it." The worker paled.

As Waraji swung his blade at the man, Kakashi flashed over and blocked with a kunai. "I suggest you go back to your master and tell him that if he wants to keep his life he should run with his tail in-between his legs. My genin could beat you two." Waraji growled, but Zori pulled him away.

Inoue walked up to Tazuna. "I think I'd like to stop working on the bridge, Tazuna. I can't let anything happen to my family, you understand?"

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Everyone was sitting down to dinner in a tense silence, when Inari stood up and started yelling. "Why? Why are you all trying so hard? You're all going to die. Who the hell do you think you are? You don't understand what we're going through."

Naruto sighed. "Better than Gatou have tried. They're dead, I'm not."

Sasuke growled. "My entire clan was slaughtered by my brother. I think I know what hardship is."

"Sensei used to say that I'm repressing my emotions due to the fact that I watched my father cut his guts out, watching my best friend get crushed under a boulder, and the woman I loved bleed out," Kakashi said from over his porn.

Sakura blushed. "I got nothin'." Inari stormed upstairs.

"He's been like that since Kaiza died," Tazuna grumbled. "It was hard on the boy, watching his hero die in front of him, it broke his spirit."

Naruto stood up. "If its the last thing I do, I'll restore that boy's spirit. I'll help him get over the death of Kaiza."

"Naruto," Kakashi stopped him there. "Don't cause another international debacle. Lord Hokage is still trying to clean up the Mist mess." Naruto blushed and then sat down.

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"Its starting. Sakura, stay on your toes" Kakashi pointed out. "Naruto, whats the status on the bridge-builder's family?"

"Replaced with shadow clones and hidden someplace safe," Naruto answered. "Sasuke, remember, keep your calm. If you let them get to you, they've been given half the battle."

Zabuza laughed in the mists. "Never thought you'd be the type to babysit brats, Hatake. Ooh, one of them is that Uzumaki kid, this could be fun!"

"Lord Zabuza, surely you're overestimating the boy. He's no older than I am," a second voice sounded.

"He survived the battle that killed the Third Raikage, Haku, that's a feat in and of itself," Zabuza warned his apprentice.

Sasuke stared at the figures that appeared in the mist. He recognized Zabuza from the descriptions given in the bingo book entry Naruto had him read. So this is what kage-rank ninja was like. The man's chakra presence was overbearing. No wonder he was called the demon of the mist. He could hear Sakura's teeth chattering. "Relax, Sakura, these wannabe ninja don't have anything on us. Remember, we're Shinobi of the Leaf," he reassured her. She nodded.

Zabuza created an army of water clones. Naruto went to counter with his own technique, but Kakashi stopped him. "Sakura, do it." She grabbed a kunai and began gliding around the ground, reducing her friction to nigh zero using chakra to skate along the surface of the bridge at high pace and disperse the water clones. Doing so used up most of her energy. She glanced up to her sensei for his opinion.

"Well done, Sakura, you've come a long way. Sasuke, your up next," Kakashi let Sasuke have his chance.

Sasuke took up point as Haku stepped forward. They charged each other, and then cut to the side, circling each other. Projectile met projectile and kunai clashed with senbon. "They're dead even," Naruto muttered. Zabuza stared on stoically.

Sasuke changed his tactics mid-attack, much as Naruto tended to do to him in a fight. His kunai connected with the senbon before Sasuke landed a devastating back-flip kick to his opponent, shattering the mask. "I'm impressed," Haku spoke again, blood dripping from the corner of her mouth. Sasuke hesitated for a moment, looking at the gorgeous girl in front of him. She took advantage of it. "Now its my turn. Ice Style: Makyo Hyosho." Ice mirrors surrounded the two of them. "No one has ever escaped this technique." Sasuke growled, then released a wave of fire balls that exploded against the mirrors. When the fire cleared, the mirrors were unharmed. "You'll need much more heat to melt one of these mirrors."

Sasuke growled. "What I wouldn't give to have Naruto to do a collaboration jutsu with. The hellfire family of jutsu would melt these like butter in a pan," he thought to himself. Haku darted from mirror to mirror, throwing wave after wave of senbon at him. Sasuke parried and dodged the projectiles, but didn't have enough time to retaliate before Haku was safely back in the mirrors.

"Like I said," Naruto reiterated. "They're dead even at this level. Haku's technique boosts her speed above Sasuke's capabilities, but Sasuke's reflexes are fast enough to stop the attacks from any linear pattern like that jutsu sets up."

Zabuza growled. "I take it you recognized the symbol on his collar," Kakashi eye-smiled.

"Uchiha," Zabuza growled again. He moved to intervene, but Naruto intercepted him.

"Your fight is with me, Zabuza," Naruto challenged.

Zabuza laughed. "Demon against demon, this'll make my day." Naruto charged in with a kunai. Zabuza swung, and Naruto parried with his kunai. Not being strong enough to stop the enormous blade outright, Naruto flipped himself over it and kicked Zabuza in the head. He exploded into water, and as soon as Naruto landed he was moving again, dodging the blade that would have cut him down the middle. Naruto flashed through a few hand signs before spitting several air blasts, which Zabuza blocked with the flat of his blade. A follow up jutsu ripped the blade from Zabuza's hands and flung it to the other side of the bridge.

Unfazed by the loss of his signature weapon, Zabuza began a jutsu of his own, causing a series of water dragons to curve around the bridge and attack Naruto. Naruto flipped above the barrage. Zabuza fired a number of water bullets upwards to hit the vulnerable Naruto, who parried them with a Great Breakthrough. As he landed, he began another technique, "Wind Cutter," he intoned, pushing a blade of focused air at his opponent, who dodged it. The thug that had just stepped onto the bridge was not so lucky, and was bisected at the waist.

Zabuza growled. "Gato. Should've known you'd double cross me. Hey kid, its been fun, but I don't have any reason to fight you anymore. Haku, we've got company," Zabuza ordered.

"Can't any of you do anything right?" Gato cursed. "None of you are dead. My men were going to slaughter whoever liv-urkkk," he trailed off, a ball of lightning having punched through his heart.

"Team Seven, mission priorities has changed. Destroy the ronin mob," Kakashi ordered, shaking Gato off of his arm. The six shinobi made short work of the thugs.

When they finished, and had washed the dismembered bodies from the bridge, Naruto asked, "Hey No-brows, why didn't you go back to Mist after Yagura died? Mizukage-chan is really nice, I bet she'd pardon you."

"Yagura's dead?" Zabuza looked shocked. "When did that happen?"

Kakashi looked up from his hentai. "One of Naruto's misadventures. He helped the new Mizukage fight him."

"Wait, did you say Mizukage-chan?" Zabuza panicked. "That wouldn't happen to be a busty woman with auburn hair, would it?"

"Yep, that sounds like Mei-chan," Naruto replied. "She said that next time she saw you, she was either going to kiss you, or give you a blow-job."

"That doesn't sound so bad," Haku began.

"With her Lava Release," Naruto finished. All the males cringed.

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